The Board of Directors of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District (District) met in regular session in the Board Room, Administration Building, Toll Plaza, San Francisco, California, on Friday, January 12, 2007, at 10:00 a.m., President Moylan presiding.

Director Gerald D. Cochran led the Board of Directors in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Marina Secchitano, Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific (IBU), reported that IBU members held a ratification meeting on January 11, 2007 and voted against the latest offer from the District, citing a disagreement regarding pension benefits. Ms. Secchitano requested that an item regarding this matter be discussed at some future meeting.

CONSENT CALENDAR

Directors STROEH/COCHRANmoved approval of the Consent Calendar. All items were approved by the following vote of the Board of Directors:

Approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of December 15, 2006

Carried

2.

Denial of Claims

a.

Claim of Eric Olguin

Carried

3.

Ratify Actions by the Auditor-Controller
Resolution No. 2007-001 (Finance-Auditing Committee, December 15, 2006) ratifies actions taken by the Auditor-Controller, as follows:

a.

Ratify commitments and/or expenditures for the period of November 1, 2006, through November 30, 2006, totaling $45,470.20;

b.

Ratify investments made by the Auditor-Controller during the period November 7, 2006, through December 4, 2006, as follows;

SECURITY

PURCHASE

DATE

MATURITY

DATE

ORIGINAL

COST

PERCENT

YIELD

FHLB Disc Note

11/15/06

12/13/06

2,159,299.09

5.16

Dexia Delaware LLC, Commercial Paper

11/15/06

12/21/06

3,978,980.00

5.255

UBS Delaware LLC, Commercial Paper

11/22/06

01/05/07

5,784,571.01

5.26

Merrill Lynch & Co.

11/27/06

12/21/06

5,374,160.46

5.24

FHLMC Disc Note

11/30/06

12/26/06

5,034,059.67

5.19

c.

Authorize the Auditor-Controller to re-invest, within the established policy of the Board, investments maturing between December 5, 2006, and January, 2007, and all other funds not required to cover expenditures that may become available; and,

d.

Accept the Investment Report for November 2006 prepared by Public Financial Management.

Adopted

GENERAL MANAGER'S REPORT

4.

Discussion of Special Event/Expressive Activity Requests

General Manager Celia Kupersmith reported on the incident that occurred on the Golden Gate Bridge on January 1, 2007, involving an anti-war protest by CodePink. Ms. Kupersmith described the District’s regulations pertaining to the use of the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks for expressive activities, which are contained in Master Ordinance 2007. She answered questions of various Board members regarding the specific events of that afternoon and clarified how the District’s expressive activity permit process works. Ms. Kupersmith also stated that the District staff understands that certain expressive activity events may be tied to milestone happenings not in the control of the activity organizer and that flexibility, as regards the actual date of an expressive activity, can be provided. Ms. Kupersmith also explained that within two days of the January 1st incident, Public Affairs Director Mary Currie facilitated a refresher course on media relations for District security personnel. In addition, Deputy General Manager/Bridge Division Kary Witt is working with personnel from local law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol and the U.S. Park Police, to refine the District’s procedures for handling crowds during both permitted and non-permitted expressive activities. Additional training for District security personnel in this area will be conducted within the next few weeks.

Ms. Kupersmith also provided an overview of her efforts to work closely with KGO television station management regarding the altercation between a District patrol officer and a television cameraman. She stated that an internal investigation of the event is taking place, and that KGO appears to appreciate the efforts of the District to address the issue with them directly and expeditiously.

Ms. Kupersmith also stated that, in response to a suggestion by a Director, she will work to provide timely information to the members of the Board of Directors regarding potential incidents of civil disobedience at the Golden Gate Bridge, so that the Directors can provide assistance in achieving compliance with regulations pertaining to the use of District properties for expressive activities.

ATTORNEY’S REPORT

5.

Attorney David Miller reported that all items contained in the Attorney’s Report were informational. Mr. Miller also reported that a closed session would be held just prior to the conclusion of the meeting to discuss a matter of pending litigation, listed on the agenda as Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District v. Marsh and McLennan Companies, Inc., et al.

ENGINEER’S REPORT

6.

No written report was presented by District Engineer Denis Mulligan. A written report is presented to the Board of Directors by the District Engineer at the second Board meeting of the month.

REPORT OF THE FINANCE-AUDITING COMMITTEE/COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2006

7.

All Non-Consent Calendar items contained in this report are informational, as the items requiring Board action were acted upon by the Board of Directors at its meeting of December 15, 2006.

REPORT OF THE RULES, POLICY AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE/COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING OF DECEMBER 15, 2006

8.

All items contained in this report are informational, as the items requiring Board action were acted upon by the Board of Directors at its meeting of December 15, 2006.

REPORT OF THE RULES, POLICY AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE/COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING OF JANUARY 12, 2007

9.

Approve Adoption of Master Ordinance 2007

a.

Acting Chair Martini presented the following recommendation from the January 12, 2007 meeting of the Rules, Policy and Industrial Relations Committee, for the Board’s consideration:

Director Grosboll inquired as to whether the Attorney for the District had issued a legal opinion regarding the constitutionality of the District’s regulations pertaining to the use of District properties for expressive activities, as written in Master Ordinance 2007. In response, Attorney Miller advised that the Master Ordinance has been the subject of legal review at periodic intervals. As drafted, it strikes a careful balancing of the public’s interest in engaging in expressive activities on the Golden Gate Bridge sidewalks with the District’s right and responsibility to protect the safety of motorists and other users of the sidewalks. He stated that he would review the Ordinance relative to this matter and provide the Board with a legal opinion.

Directors Grosboll and McGoldrick suggested postponing action on Master Ordinance 2007 in order to allow more time to study the regulations pertaining to expressive activities.

Directors Martini and Newhouse Segal stated that it would be prudent to adopt Master Ordinance 2007, as presented and then address the pending issues regarding expressive activities at a later date, since this recommendation is an action simply to incorporate the seven ordinances that had been adopted by the Board in 2006 into a newly adopted Master Ordinance, so as to make the District’s Master Ordinance a more useful resource to members of the Board, staff and the public, and to more efficiently administer the ordinance system. It was noted that the Master Ordinance language regarding expressive activities has been previously approved by the Board and would remain in place, whether or not the Board takes an action to adopt Master Ordinance 2007 at this meeting.

Attorney Miller provided a brief summation of the legal issues related to expressive activities on the Golden Gate Bridge, noting that the Bridge sidewalks were not explicitly opened to expressive activity prior to 1990, when the Board modified its policy to open the sidewalks to the public, guided by the regulations described in the Master Ordinance. He further stated that the Board of Directors could reassess the regulations pertaining to the use of District properties for expressive activities at a future date if it so chooses.

President Moylan stated that any future discussions of the regulations pertaining to use of District properties for expressive activities be referred to the Governmental Affairs and Public Information Committee.

Attorney David Miller, at the request of President Moylan, stated that the Board of Directors would convene in closed session to discuss a matter of pending litigation, listed on the agenda as Item No. 6.B.1.a, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District v. Marsh and McLennan Companies, Inc., et al.

After closed session, President Moylan called the meeting to order in open session with a quorum present. Attorney Miller reported that the Board of Directors met in closed session, as permitted by the Brown Act, to discuss a matter of pending litigation, as noted above. He reported that, as a result of those deliberations, it is recommended that the Board of Directors take action at this time to approve acceptance of the settlement offers in anti-trust litigation initiated by the New York Attorney General involving AIG and Zurich insurance companies.

b.

Approve Acceptance of Settlement of Litigation Initiated by the New York Attorney General

Directors STROEH/EDDIE
Resolution No. 2007-003 approves settlement offers from AIG and Zurich insurance companies resulting from settlements reached in the anti-trust litigation initiated by the Attorney General of the State of New York.

All business having been concluded, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 a.m., in the memory of Lloyd Emmett Schaefer, John Lawrence Colonghi, Matthew Cevallos, Richard “Dick” Noftsger, Gary Grant Casagrande, Officer Bryan Tuvera and Frank Coghlan.

Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Janet S. Tarantino
Secretary of the District